LGBT+

We at the BES recognise the importance of diversity, which is why we are building initiatives to celebrate, encourage and nurture it.

We work hard to make our community feel engaged, represented and included. The term ‘diversity’ is a wide umbrella and we recognise there is still work to do to achieve those aims, but we are proud of the initiatives we have already started – like our long-running women’s mentoring scheme and our Accessibility Network – and are excited about progressing our LGBT+ Network initiative.

LGBT+ Network

Although still in its embryonic stage, we are building a network through which our LGBT+ community can interact, share and support each other. It comes from demand highlighted in our successful Annual Meeting LGBT+ mixers. If you are interested in being a part of this network, please get in touch.

Your Stories

We hope to use this space to share progress on our LGBT+ network, but also to share your personal stories. In sharing our experiences, we give greater visibility to underrepresented parts of our community. If you would like to be part of our LGBT+ network or share your story, please get in touch.

Annual Meeting LGBT+ Mixer

“The LGBT+ mixer at the Ecology Across Borders Conference in Ghent (December 2017) was a wonderful event where I finally got to meet some other people like myself: gay as well as a scientist interested in the natural world. There were quite a few people there, and this made it all the more important to me, to see that all were eager to be there and wanted to meet others like them as well and discuss our wide-ranging research interests. Additionally, everyone was eager in sharing their ideas on how the LGBT+ mixer can expand into a wider group that allows us to be who we are whilst we share our science and navigate the research world.

Whilst we are ecologists in our work life, it is important to know that there is a safe space for our community to gather. For many of us, admitting we are gay is hard enough, then we set out into a working world that is largely dominated by people who may not fully understand or wish to understand or tolerate this part of us, making us extremely careful about who we discuss our lives and work with. Whether we are from Britain or from a country that is intolerant of LGBT+ people, this mixer and potential group gives LGBT+ ecologists a place to know they are safe and welcome, allowing them to open up and share their work and research goals with others.”

Our Annual Meeting LGBT+ Mixer will return in Birmingham this year. If you are unsure whether to join us for this friendly, inclusive and safe mixer, read this feedback:

“The LGBT+ mixer at the Ecology Across Borders Conference in Ghent (December 2017) was a wonderful event where I finally got to meet some other people like myself: gay as well as a scientist interested in the natural world. There were quite a few people there, and this made it all the more important to me, to see that all were eager to be there and wanted to meet others like them as well and discuss our wide-ranging research interests. Additionally, everyone was eager in sharing their ideas on how the LGBT+ mixer can expand into a wider group that allows us to be who we are whilst we share our science and navigate the research world.

Whilst we are ecologists in our work life, it is important to know that there is a safe space for our community to gather. For many of us, admitting we are gay is hard enough, then we set out into a working world that is largely dominated by people who may not fully understand or wish to understand or tolerate this part of us, making us extremely careful about who we discuss our lives and work with. Whether we are from Britain or from a country that is intolerant of LGBT+ people, this mixer and potential group gives LGBT+ ecologists a place to know they are safe and welcome, allowing them to open up and share their work and research goals with others.”

Diversity Policy

We have a living policy about diversity that runs through everything that we do. You can read about it here.

Safeguarding

Our safeguarding policy has been developed to ensure that all those who engage with us and our activities are able to do so safely. Read our policy here.

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